Ashes to Go or Not to Go?

Those "In The Episcopal Know" may be so over this question. Others may not care one whit or just wish we could get over ourselves. But I think the question is worth pondering. It is about so much more than ashes and even Ash Wednesday or Lent. Or maybe even The Church. I think it is about love and I am really big on love.

Background: On Ash Wednesday this week some very prominent leaders in the American Episcopal Church decided to take ashes to the people under the rubric "Ashes to Go." The Bishop of Washington, DC, the Rt Reverend Mariann Edgar Budde herself stood at the Foggy Bottom Metro Station offering to make the sign of the cross on any comer's forehead and repeat the phrase, "Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return."

In fact, priests across the country--some in response to the urging of their bishops--did the same, some of them with very human trepidations about looking stupid, being laughed at or ignored. Others, including some who decided against doing this, felt a genuine concern about whether the rites of The Church were being offered up on the cheap, out of context, just a stunt. Sort of Humility Lite, in contrast to the traditional blessing of the ashes offered in the context of a whole service (see

http://justus.anglican.org/resources/bcp/formatted_1979.htm) celebrating the beginning of Lent.

When I first heard about this outreach event, my Inner Cheerleader-for-Change came bouncing forward, pom-poms at the ready. Talk about Radical Hospitality. Not just welcoming people when they come through the doors on Sunday, but standing outside with the ashes on offer to anyone who might be walking by. I could hear the concerns, the worries about the church's sacraments, and I respect those concerns. One thing I have learned about trying to make change happen is that it is critically important to listen very, very carefully to the naysayers. But, I thought..."What is the absolute worst thing that can happen here? No takers? A few sneers?"

My two favorite anecdotes from surfing the Ashes-to-Go Stratosphere are these:

From The Reverend Kym Lucas, Rector at St. Margaret's Episcopal Church on Connecticut Avenue in Washington, DC--Twenty people stopped at St. Margaret's steps: some out of curiosity, some in gratitude, some not even sure why they stopped. A bus driver ran across 6 lanes of traffic; a harried traveler passed me by but doubled back to make time for a prayer and ashes. The weather held, and the liturgical context was made by the presence of the Spirit. And I realized in the process that I was being blessed.

From the recently ordained Reverend Auburn Watersong of Christ Church Episcopal, Montpelier, VT, the place I call home--I was expecting maybe 3 folks (rushing by during their lunch hour) might stop. 18 folks actually stopped for ashes - and my favorite: the 20-something gal who left the arm of her (slightly surprised) boyfriend as she exclaimed "I love Ash Wednesday!" then took one giant, enthusiastic step right up to me, looked me straight in the eyes and said "Lay it on me!" AWESOME.

My Inner Cheerleader is even more pumped than usual about Radical Hospitality. My head is popping with ideas for creating new paths to spiritual awakening, including my own. Ashes-to-Go was an outward and visible sign of love and welcome in some of the most unexpected places. Meeting people where they are. Giving them what we can of what they need. Upside unknown, but surely promising.